Megative drops “Have Mercy” + new tour dates

Brooklyn-based collective, MEGATIVE, (Tim Fletcher of The Stills, Gus Van Go, Like Minds, and Screechy Dan) recently shared Have Mercy, the latest cut from their new full-length album, set for release this summer via Last Gang Records. Premiering via The Strombo Show on Sunday, May 6, the single follows album samplers, One Day…All This Will Be Gone,Can’t Do Drugz (Like I Used To) and More Time, highlighting the band’s unique blend of dark and deep subterranean dub, heavily influenced by the sounds that came out of the UK punk and reggae scene of the late 70s.

Megative has announced shows during the summer festival circuit, with stops at Montreal Jazz Festival, Festival D’été de Quebec and Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario. Following, they have a North American tour route confirmed for this fall. See a complete list of dates below.

“These lyrics were actually written quite a while ago but I can’t help feeling like they keep getting more and more real with each passing crazy day,” Tim Fletcher says, delving into the inspiration behind the track. “Basically, the song is a fever dream of fear and anxiety and trauma that just came out in a sort of stream-of-consciousness beat poetry rap. I was thinking about Wu Tang’s Triumph and Combat Rock-era Joe Strummer and I barfed that out. Best listened to with a bottle of dark black wine by the rivers of Hell!”

“This song was the first song we ever recorded together – the first time we got together and decided to try to see what Megative was gonna be,” adds Gus Van Go. “And it’s weird how quickly it came together, and how intensely we were all on the same page musically. It basically encompasses everything we believe in… it’s got some of Tim’s most evocative lyrics – and it brings in a little bit from all our influences: from King Tubby’s trippy echoes, to Jah Shaka’s unnerving dub sirens… with a blend of hip hop loops and Clash style drums and guitars. It was the basic palette with which the rest of the album was coloured.”